German election: Merz’s conservatives celebrate, far right enjoys record result
After the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition late last year, Merz had asked the electorate for a strong mandate to form a clear-cut coalition with one other party.
In the event, he secured enough seats only because two of the smaller parties failed to get into parliament.
A two-party coalition would enable him to solve as many of Germany’s problems as he could in four years, he said, from a stagnant economy to closing its borders to irregular migrants.
German voters had other ideas. They came out in big numbers, with a 83% turnout not seen since before reunification in 1990.
Merz’s Christian Democrats had been looking for more than the 28.6% of the vote they and their Bavarian sister party received.
His most likely partner was always going to be the Social Democrats – known in Germany as a GroKo, or grand coalition.
But Germany’s electorate has fractured, and the two big beasts of its post-war politics can no longer be sure of success.
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